


Consequences

by EventHorizons13



Series: Everyday in Atlantis [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Headaches & Migraines, One Shot, Rodney McKay actually caring, Rodney McKay being Rodney McKay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28331118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EventHorizons13/pseuds/EventHorizons13
Summary: Jess may have let certain things slip a little too long while caught up in her work. Rodney notices and she has to deal with the consequences.
Series: Everyday in Atlantis [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074773
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Consequences

I had a migraine the size of the entire damn city. It had been a long time since I had been that hard with one. I didn’t want to see anyone, deal with anyone, or be stopped by anyone. I was on a mission and that was to find the nearest source of caffeine and then promptly crash here the hell I was. It didn’t matter where that was. 

The dull ache behind my eyes had started earlier but it was something that I had been able to ignore. The problem was that it grew more persistent and bothersome throughout the day. The ache had become a throb and before I realized it, light and sound were causing severe flashes of pain that ran from the top of my head to my toes. By that time, I couldn’t get any food down since my stomach decided that it was on a tilt a whirl.

I was miserable and the constant jack hammering occurring in my head was only making it worse. Most people seemed to pick up on that fact and steered clear. My discomfort was probably being screamed out in all directions. At least there was acknowledgement of it. The problem, and it didn’t come as a surprise, was that one Dr. Rodney McKay did not pick up on my distress. 

“Atkins!” I couldn’t keep the groan from slipping. If there was one thing that could possibly make my currently miserable existence any worse, it was McKay. I kept moving despite the call, not willing to stop for him. “Atkins, wait up.” 

“For the love of all things holy and whatever else that you may hold dear in this city, not now McKay.” 

“It can’t wait. Whatever you are doing can.” He clearly was back to his old self. I was sure that that phrase was one that haunted the dreams of all scientists that resided in this city. 

“If you don’t want me puking all over the place, you included in that, you’ll let me continue on my quest for caffeine.” I felt like my head was about to explode. Speaking was painful at this point and I certainly wasn’t seeing right. There was a small sound that came from beside me, indicating that McKay had at least acknowledged the statement. 

“Are you okay? Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary? You could be infecting everyone.” 

“I have a migraine McKay. One hell of one. I’m not sick with anything you can get.” I still didn’t stop. The small tug on my arm came unexpectedly. It was what finally got me to stop as I was liable to topple right over in my current state. 

“If you need caffeine, come on.” At this point, I wasn’t exactly capable of questioning anything and just turned to follow him instead. A few times, I stumbled, my vision blurry and eyes half closed against the bright lights of the city. 

There were a couple of twists and turns, causing me to lose track of where we were in the city rather quickly. Not that I had been sure of where I was when he found me in the first place. If I was being honest. 

“Sit down” His voice had softened significantly when he spoke this time, something that I was grateful for. Half blind, I stumbled to a couch and collapsed face first. The heels of my palms dug into my eyes, enough pressure applied to help relieve a fraction of the ache. It was a trick that I had learned young and had never failed. Even a hint of relief was relief. There were some sounds of Rodney fiddling with something before the smell of coffee filled the area. I knew that I would live to regret the next phase that slipped out of my mouth. It happened though before I could help it. It may have been muffled but he surely understood and would hold it over me when he was given the chance. 

“Oh, you are a saint.” A soft chuckle came from what I assumed was his direction. We had been the only ones in the room. I thought. The lack of attention to my surroundings was at an all time high.

“Why didn’t you go to Carson?”

“Not my first migraine. Won’t be the last. Best medicine is caffeine and sleep.” I could practically hear the frown that came to his face. Most of Atlantis probably could. If I felt any better, I may have even laughed about it. Instead, a pained groan came as I rolled a bit. There was no comfortable position and no way to alleviate the pressure building in my head. My stomach rolled. The coffee wouldn’t take long to get ready and I was going to down the cup as soon as he placed it in my hands. All that I had to do was make sure that it stayed down. 

It took a few moments but eventually Rodney shuffled closer. 

“Here.” I had to crack my eyes open to be able to grab the cup. There was an instant rush of regret but it was necessary. As soon as the cup was finished, I closed my eyes and reclined back again. It wouldn’t be an instant relief but it would help soon enough. My stomach rolled again, violent in reminding me that my body was completely pissed at me. I slowed down my breathing as much as I could and fought against the nausea. Vomiting would only make the headache worse and I would lose the caffeine that I had put into my system. That would mean having to admit defeat and head to the infirmary. Carson would fuss and the medications would zonk me out, leaving me more than useless for at least 2 days. Not that I was about to tell McKay any of that. 

“You sure you don’t want to go see Carson?” Soft voice or not, it was still sending shock waves through my head.

“I’m more than sure,” I shot back quickly. “I’m just going to…” I curled up a bit on the couch. Every movement was beginning to hurt. It had been awhile since I had a headache quite this bad. 

“I’m just going to get some sleep.” He huffed but didn’t say anything else and I was grateful for that.

There was no way to immediately tell how much time had passed when I felt a nudge to my arm. Groaning, I cracked my eyes open, ready to chew out whoever the hell was disturbing my rest. Unfortunately, it was Carson and the man was all but impossible to be upset with. 

“Hey lass,” he spoke softly. The man was already kneeling by the couch, eye level with me and looking concerned. “Rodney said that ya had a nasty headache.” I would see to it that something unpleasant happened to the man later. 

“Migraine. I’m okay Carson.”

“You hardly seem it,” he replied, a critical eye telling me that he wasn’t believing that for a second. “You were groaning in pain when I came in. And ya have been asleep for about six hours.” Six hours and my head still felt like it was ready to pop off my shoulders? That was not a good thing at all. He grabbed my wrist to check my pulse, humming softly to himself.

“At least let me take you down to the infirmary. Some fluids will help.” I knew better than to fight him on this, even if I wanted to pout and moan about it like a child. 

“Okay.” I went to stand after slowly sitting up and almost fell. 

“And that earns ya the trip on a stretcher.” His hands had found my shoulders, keeping me steady but ready to catch me if I happened to fall. I complied, moving to the stretcher that he had waiting at his side. As soon as I was resting on my back once more, I tossed my arm over my eyes. There was no point in denying the help now. I could turn down the medications at least if I really didn’t want them.

The next thing I knew, I was in the infirmary. Carson was hanging over me once more. The light was bright though as soon as my hand lifted, they were already dimming down.

“Sorry lass. Needed them up for a proper exam. Just as a precaution with everything you work with.” The caution would have been appreciated if I had been in a better mindset and not ready to bash my head into the wall to knock myself out.

“Remind me to smack McKay next time he is within sight.” 

“He was just worried about you Jess.” Even I picked up on the deprecating sound in the laugh. 

“Unless his life is involved, he doesn’t worry.” It was mean and I knew it. He carried around the weight of anyone that the expedition had lost, thinking that the blame was on him. Everyone in Atlantis knew that at this point. It wasn’t a secret. He was a hard-ass but he cared. I was just pissed that he had called Beckett and was lashing out. “I don’t want any meds Carson.”

“Are ya sure?” The inflection of his voice meant he was surprised but ready to fight a bit about it.

“The fluids are okay. And I’m guessing you already got the scans done.” He nodded.

“Aye, nothing showed up. Labs are still pending.” 

“Then definitely no meds.”

“Okay.” He didn’t sound thrilled about it but he wasn’t pushing in that moment. I was grateful that he let it drop, though if the headache continued on much longer I knew that he wouldn’t give me much of a choice about it. “Get some rest. I’ll check on ya in a little bit,” he promised and left it at that. I was given some peace and was able to get back to sleep.

**********************************

I woke up another number of hours later. The infirmary was quiet, meaning it was likely either really late or really early. Thankfully, the throb in my head had quieted down, not nearly as strong, and pushed to the back of my head. The migraine was finally receding, though I didn't know how long it would take to get rid of it fully. At least the nausea was gone and the lights weren’t making me want to dig my eyes out of my skull. 

“Ah, Atkins, you’re finally up.” That was McKay and he was close. Not like he had just waltzed into the infirmary and happened to see me up. Glancing to my side, I saw him working on his tablet. His head was bowed, though not enough to keep his eyes from bouncing back and forth from the work at hand and me. “Was starting to get worried that you weren’t going to wake up. Even had Carson more than a little concerned.” This was the second time that I had woken up in the infirmary with Rodney waiting for me. Hell might have been freezing over for all I knew.

“How long was I out?” 

“On top of the six hours you slept before you even got here? An additional eighteen hours.” Carson had moved into her line of sight, providing the answers that I wanted. I was out for a full twenty four hours? “How are you feeling lass?”

“Better. I have a bit of a dull headache still but the migraine is definitely gone. No more nausea and every light and sound isn’t as painful.”

“Good. You were awfully dehydrated. When was the last time ya got out of that lab of yours?” 

“I stopped for some food and drink....” Shit, I didn’t even know what today was. “What day is it?”

“Friday.”

“Then late Tuesday.” 

“Jess…” I shook my head, already knowing where the lecture from Carson was heading. 

“I know, I know. I got a little carried away. The new part of the database sort of chewed away time faster than I was really paying attention to. It won’t happen again.”

“You’re right it won’t. I’ll have someone checking your lab every 12 hours from now on.” That was rich coming from Rodney. I couldn’t help the snort that came from me.

“You work until you drop,” I argued back. I didn’t need a damn babysitter.

“But I do stop to eat and drink.” So, he had me there. I couldn’t exactly argue. I had caused my own problems with this one and had to deal with the consequences, which seemed to be earning a babysitter. ‘Therefore, you are getting daily check ups. You aren’t any use to anyone around here if you put yourself here every few days and end up losing an entire day to sleep. Carson and I had already discussed it and it will be under doctor’s orders.” I could feel disgruntled about it all I wanted and I was feeling majorly disgruntled but he was technically right. That just made the entire situation worse. And a hell of a lot more embarrassing. What was worse was that he likely would have some sort of idiot do the babysitting. There was no way out of it. I was going to have to lay in the bed that I had made. 

"Fine," I huffed out, consenting even though I didn't have a choice. 

"It's for your own good, Jess. Until we know you are back on track." Carson made it almost impossible to be mad at him. Not to mention, he played logic better than anyone else here. There wasn't an argument in the world that could be made against then when he was able to have his say. The military didn't always like listening to him, but most of us civilians didn't have that sort of leeway.

"How long would you like me here Carson?"

"At least another couple of hours. Would like to get some more fluid into ya and run a few more tests to make sure that you aren't dehydrated anymore. We'll have you eat while you're here too."

"Well, that settles that then." Rodney stood up. "I have to get back to work. I'll make sure that you are checked on, Atkins. Don't try to slip it. I'll know. And you'll be in a whole heap of trouble." I was barely able to refrain from rolling my eyes.

"Understood." 

"Good." With that, he took off. This was not going to be a fun few weeks. 


End file.
